What is the standard for website success? Answers could be different for different websites. All businesses have unique requirements. However, all websites need traffic. For this, picking the right web hosting provider is essential.
If you make the wrong choice, be ready for the bad results. Your website will be prone to breaches. Moreover, the loading time can be slow. Both of these situations will lead to little or no traffic at all. You will spend a lot of time interacting with the support department.
We want your online business venture to succeed. So here are seven great tips for finding the best web hosting provider. You can also understand it as a step-by-step guide to the right hosting provider.
Check What Types of Hosting Are Available
First of all, you should know different hosting types. Then, you should choose the one that fulfills your needs in the best budget possible. Give this initial step some, and it will keep you satisfied for a longer time. Here are the types of hosting:
Shared hosting: Multiple websites use the same servers. Resources are assigned to whichever demands first.
VPS hosting: Multiple websites use the same server, but all have dedicated resources within a server.
Cloud hosting: Your website is hosted in Cloud.
Dedicated hosting: One server entertains only one website at a time.
WordPress hosting: This is the hosting that uses the WordPress content management system.
Long-term success is not possible without long-term planning. If you decide to go for shared hosting, also read the VPS plans that the vendor provides. There are high chances you will switch to them when traffic grows.
Keep these questions in mind when you are choosing a web host.
- What is the number of plans they offer against every hosting category? The scalability will suffer if this number is low.
- How much room is there to grow? You may stick with the host for a long time. It should have good VPS and dedicated plans and starter shared hosting plans.
- How different are their packages from one another? Let us say a web host provides WordPress hosting. Check the WordPress-specific features that differentiate it from regular hosting? Dig deep into those features. Do not just fall for words. Look closer and find out if they keep their word.
Compare Pricing with Your Budget
The good news is that most of the hosting plans are affordable. The cheapest hosting type is shared hosting. It may even cost lower than one dollar per month. But remember that it will also be much limited in terms of features. It would no longer be useful once your website starts growing.
Keep these four things in mind when considering pricing plans:
- Is there a money-back guarantee? If yes, how long is it? You should get a refund of your hard-earned money if services are not up-to-the-mark.
- Check the renewal price. Price may increase after your first term. You should know how much you will pay in that situation before purchasing.
- What if you change the contract length? Will it change the price too? Many web hosts advertise pricing for a 36-months contract. Shorter contracts may cost more.
- What do they provide free of cost? Free SSL is one of the must-have features. However, it will be good to have free migration, free backups, and free domain. You can spend this money somewhere else. Also, check out the extras. Go to your checkout and see the selected paid ones. Please carefully think before you select or reject them.
Explore Customer Support
Do not wait for any problem to arise to check the support level and quality. Instead, assess your potential provider from multiple angles.
For example, go to their help center and check articles and videos. How easy are they to understand? The second-place you must visit is the customer forum. How many active users are there? How long does it take to mark their issues as resolved? Also, check how many communication channels they offer?
Do not hesitate to get in touch before buying any plan. That is the perfect strategy to check support before signing up. Are there agents helpful and supportive? Is it easy to contact them using the medium you like? Can you contact them quickly? Also, after contact, how much time do they take to address your issue? Waiting for more than one hour is not a good sign. Compile a list of questions if you have too much to inquire about.
List Down The Features
To find the best host, you must define the best web host. Determine your requirements and make a comprehensive list. While this list may vary from business to business, here are some general considerations.
Storage: How much do you need? You should know it in numbers.
Bandwidth: Think about the maximum traffic expected and choose bandwidth accordingly.
RAM: RAM requirements increase when you run more programs.
Quantity: Do you want to host more than one website? If yes, how many?
Management Tool: What are your control panel preferences? Do you want cPanel or Plesk?
Backups: Do they provide free backups, or will you have to pay extra? Also, specify how often you want to back up your data.
Domain Name: Do you want to get the domain name from the same vendor or another?
SSL: Nowadays, not providing SSL is a red flag.
Control: It is all about how many technical features you need? Your best host must find full root access and access control if your expectations are high.
Switching: Do you think you will need migration services? You will need it if you are already hosting somewhere. It is a good sign if the new host offers free migration. Moreover, if they provide, how much will they manage?
Yes, keeping track could be tricky if the list is that long. It could become overwhelming. One good idea would be to define priorities to narrow down the list. Identify the qualities you can compromise on and the ones you cannot. It would narrow down your focus and make searching easy.
Never Compromise On Security
Yes, this is one of the parameters you cannot compromise on. Have you just realized that your potential supplier does not take security seriously? If yes, do not consider them. You should have a separate list of security features. The following features would be available if you have selected a good web hosting provider.
- Firewalls
- Virus Scanning
- Brute Force Defense
- Server Hardening
- DDoS Protection
Here is an interesting fact. Often web hosts hesitate shuttering details of their security measures. The reason is that it may help hackers find their way. Yet you should ensure that the host you select provides the following two features.
- The first one, again, is SSL. Remember that you may need advanced SSL if you run an online store.
- The second is domain privacy, which helps you reduce spam. Domain privacy makes sure that your personal information stays anonymous on the public WHOIS database.
Speed & Reliability
Online success is not possible without good performance. Loading speed makes the first impression, and we know that the first impression is the last. Loading speed affects the user experience and also influences SEO.
Search engines do not show slow pages to their users. Therefore, a good web host is the first key to fast-loading speed. However, it is not so easy to assess the speed and reliability of a web host. You must look for the following three things.
Uptime
It is the time percentage your server is up and accessible. All servers experience downtime, so do not expect 100%. Even updating sometimes leads to downtime.
Yet, you should not settle for less than 99.95% downtime. At an annual level, it means 150 minutes of downtime every year. The uptime guarantee is mostly written on the home page of the provider’s website. Some even provide server status reports that allow you to track recent uptime performance.
Server Locations
To enjoy the best speed, go with the provider with many different servers at unique locations. The higher the number is, the better speed you enjoy. The page loads quickly if the visitor is closer. Hence, it is an excellent advantage if you can pick from several locations. However, every provider will not allow you to choose the location.
Content Delivery Networks
Content Delivery Networks is a network of servers. The locations of all these servers are different. They work together to ensure that the website loads in the client’s browser quickly. As a result, they boost your website speed, which leads to two things. Number one is satisfied visitors, and number two is happy to search engines.
Consider Specialists You Need
We have talked about the basic hosting types. Here are some more advanced and specialist hosting packages.
WordPress Hosting
Hosting tailor-made to work with WordPress is called WordPress hosting. It has two types. First is shared WordPress hosting, which suits small WordPress websites, static blogs, or brochure websites. Second is managed WordPress hosting, which suits growing businesses.
We have listed down the features every ideal WordPress hosting should offer. Read the list and make sure your provider choice is excellent.
- Automatic WordPress Updates
- Specific WordPress support
- Free backups
- Automatic WordPress Installation
- Custom themes
Linux Hosting Windows Hosting
Linux hosting plans are the most popular choice and almost like a default. However, specific needs may call for good windows hosting. Windows is an operating system in those plans, and more niche programs are available.
Reseller Hosting
It is for you if you are looking to set up your hosting company. However, every business does not provide reseller hosting plans. If you want to resell the hosting space you get, find the provider who offers reseller hosting.
Putting It All Together
Yes, it could be daunting to find good web hosting. First, there are too many providers to choose from. Second, you would have your unique requirements. You cannot blindly follow someone’s recommendation. Only systematic and step-by-step work can help you land the ideal provider. We hope that this brief guide helps you. Good Luck!
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